Little Queen | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Studio album by | ||||
Released | May 1977 | |||
Recorded | February–April 1977 | |||
Studio | Kaye-Smith, Seattle, Washington | |||
Genre | ||||
Length | 39:00 | |||
Label | Portrait | |||
Producer | Mike Flicker | |||
Heart chronology | ||||
| ||||
Singles from Little Queen | ||||
|
Review scores | |
---|---|
Source | Rating |
AllMusic | [1] |
PopMatters | Mixed [2] |
Rolling Stone | Mixed [3] |
The Rolling Stone Album Guide | [4] |
Little Queen is the third studio album by American rock band Heart, released in May 1977 by Portrait Records. The album was recorded and mixed at Kaye-Smith Studios in Seattle, Washington, from February to April 1977. [5] On June 29, 2004, a remastered version of Little Queen was released by Epic Records and Legacy Recordings with two bonus tracks. [6]
The group intended Magazine to be the official follow-up to their debut album Dreamboat Annie . However, a contract dispute with their label, Mushroom Records, resulted in the group signing with the newly formed Portrait Records, a division of CBS Records (now Sony BMG). [7]
The Mushroom contract called for two albums, and the label took the position that they were owed a second one. On that basis, Mushroom attempted to prevent the release of Little Queen and any other work by Heart. They took the five unfinished tracks for Magazine and added a B-side and two live recordings. The first release of the album in April 1977 included a disclaimer on the back cover. [7]
The court eventually decided that Heart was free to sign with a new label, but indeed owed Mushroom a second album. Therefore, Heart returned to the studio to re-record, remix, edit, and resequence the Magazine recordings in a marathon session over four days. A court-ordered guard stood nearby to prevent the master tapes from being erased. [8]
Little Queen was released on May 14, 1977, and the reworked version of Magazine was entered Billboard on April 22, 1978. [9] With the successful single "Barracuda", Little Queen outsold Magazine handily, eventually earning a triple platinum certification from the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). [10] However, the almost simultaneous 1977 releases also gave the band the distinction of having all three of their albums (Dreamboat Annie, Magazine, and Little Queen) on the charts at the same time. [11]
After Dreamboat Annie became a million seller, Mushroom took out a full-page ad in the December 30, 1976, issue of Rolling Stone magazine touting the band's success, using the headline "Million to One Shot Sells a Million". [12] The ad looked like the front page of the tabloid newspaper National Enquirer and included a photo from the Dreamboat Annie cover shoot. The caption read: "Heart's Wilson Sisters Confess: 'It Was Only Our First Time!'" [13]
After this ad surfaced, a Detroit radio promoter asked Ann Wilson about her lover—referring to Nancy, thus implying that the sisters were incestuous lesbian lovers. Ann was outraged and retreated to her hotel room to write a song. When she relayed the incident to Nancy, she, too, was infuriated. Nancy joined Ann and contributed a melody and bridge. [14] The song became "Barracuda", which entered Billboard Hot 100 on May 28, and peaked at number 11. [15] and remains one of the band's signature songs.
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|
1. | "Barracuda" | 4:20 | |
2. | "Love Alive" |
| 4:21 |
3. | "Sylvan Song" |
| 2:12 |
4. | "Dream of the Archer" |
| 4:30 |
5. | "Kick It Out" | A. Wilson | 2:44 |
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|
6. | "Little Queen" |
| 5:10 |
7. | "Treat Me Well" | N. Wilson | 3:24 |
8. | "Say Hello" |
| 3:36 |
9. | "Cry to Me" |
| 2:51 |
10. | "Go On Cry" |
| 5:52 |
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|
11. | "Too Long a Time" (early demo version of "Love Alive") |
| 3:30 |
12. | "Stairway to Heaven" (live at the Aquarius Tavern, Seattle, WA, 1976) | 9:20 |
Credits adapted from the liner notes of Little Queen. [5]
Weekly charts
| Year-end charts
|
Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
---|---|---|
Canada (Music Canada) [28] | 2× Platinum | 200,000^ |
United States (RIAA) [10] | 3× Platinum | 3,000,000^ |
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. |
Heart is an American rock band formed in 1973 in Seattle, Washington. The band evolved from previous projects led by founding members Roger Fisher (guitar) and Steve Fossen, including The Army (1967–1969), Hocus Pocus (1969–1970), and White Heart (1970–1973). By 1975, original members Fisher, Fossen, and Ann Wilson, along with Nancy Wilson, Michael Derosier (drums), and Howard Leese formed the lineup for the band's initial mid- to late-1970s success period. These core members were included in the band's 2013 induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
Ann Dustin Wilson is an American singer and songwriter best known as the lead singer of the rock band Heart.
Nancy Lamoureux Wilson is an American musician. She rose to fame alongside her older sister Ann as guitarist and second vocalist in the rock band Heart.
Dreamboat Annie is the debut studio album by American rock band Heart. At the time, the band was based in Vancouver, British Columbia; the album was recorded in Vancouver and first released in Canada by the local label Mushroom Records in September 1975, eventually reaching number 20 on RPM's Top Album chart and earning a double platinum certification. It was released in the United States on February 14, 1976, through the US subsidiary of Mushroom Records in Los Angeles, peaking at number seven on the Billboard 200. It also reached the top 10 in the Netherlands and Australia in early 1977. The album contains three commercially successful singles, two of which, "Crazy on You" and "Magic Man", became staples on North American FM radio. Producer Mike Flicker helped the group to polish their sound and obtain a recording contract with the label.
Magazine is the second studio album by American rock band Heart. It was originally released on April 19, 1977, by Mushroom Records in unfinished form, without the band's permission. A second authorized version of the album was released on April 22, 1978. The album has been certified platinum in both the United States and Canada.
Dog & Butterfly is the fourth studio album by American rock band Heart, released in September 1978, by Portrait Records, following a legal dispute with Mushroom Records over the release of the band's second studio album, Magazine, in April 1978. Dog & Butterfly peaked at number 17 on the US Billboard 200 and has been certified double platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). The album spawned the singles "Straight On" and "Dog & Butterfly".
Bébé le Strange is the fifth studio album by American rock band Heart, released on February 14, 1980, by Epic Records. It was the first album without founding member Roger Fisher on lead guitar, who had left the band months prior along with his brother Michael.
Greatest Hits/Live is a compilation album of greatest hits, live recordings and new tracks by American rock band Heart, released on November 29, 1980, by Epic Records. The album was issued in North America as a double LP. The first disc is a collection of the band's greatest hits, while the second is mostly a live album, although it contains three previously unreleased studio recordings, including a cover of "Tell It Like It Is", released as the first single. The second single released from the album was a live cover of "Unchained Melody".
Heart is the eighth studio album by American rock band Heart, released on June 21, 1985, by Capitol Records. The album continued the band's transition into mainstream rock, a genre that yielded the band its greatest commercial success. Marking the band's Capitol Records debut, it became Heart's only album to top the US Billboard 200 to date. The album was eventually certified quintuple platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA)—in contrast to Heart's previous two releases, Private Audition and Passionworks, which remain uncertified—proving that adopting a glam metal direction helped resurrect the band.
Brigade is the tenth studio album by American rock band Heart, released on March 26, 1990, by Capitol Records. The album reached number three on both the US Billboard 200 and the UK Albums Chart, while peaking at number two in Canada, Finland, and Sweden. The album's lead single, "All I Wanna Do Is Make Love to You", reached number two on the Billboard Hot 100. Subsequent singles "I Didn't Want to Need You" and "Stranded" peaked at numbers 23 and 13 on the Billboard Hot 100, respectively; "Secret", the fourth and final single, charted at number 64. The album was also notable for containing six tracks that charted inside the Top 25 on Billboard's Album Rock Tracks chart: "Wild Child" number 3, "Tall, Dark Handsome Stranger" number 24, All I Wanna Do is Make Love To You" number 2, "I Didn't Want to Need You" number 13, "Stranded" number 25, "The Night" number 25.
The Road Home, a live album released in 1995, is the fourteenth album overall by the rock group Heart. It chronicles a club performance in the "unplugged" style in their home city of Seattle. The setlist contains acoustic versions of many of the band's hits including "Dreamboat Annie", "Alone", "Barracuda".
"Magic Man" is a song by the American rock band Heart released as a single off their debut album, Dreamboat Annie. Written and composed by Ann and Nancy Wilson, the song is sung from the viewpoint of a young girl who is being seduced by an older man, much to the chagrin of her mother, who calls and begs the girl to come home. In an interview, Ann Wilson revealed that the "Magic Man" was her then boyfriend, band manager Michael Fisher, and that part of the song was an autobiographical tale of the beginnings of their relationship. Roger Fisher came up with the alternative tuning EADGDG for his guitar part. The album version of "Magic Man" features an over-two-minute instrumental break which consists of a guitar solo and the usage of a Minimoog synthesizer, while the single version of the song edits out most of this break, cutting it down from 5:28 to 3:29.
"Crazy on You" is a song by American rock band Heart from their debut studio album, Dreamboat Annie (1975). It was released in March 1976 as the album's third single in Canada and the album's debut single in the United States. It reached the top 25 in Canada and the top 35 in the US. It found more success in the Netherlands and Belgium where it peaked at number 2 and 13, respectively, in early 1977 after its release as the second single from Dreamboat Annie in those countries. It is considered one of Heart's signature songs as it is one of the most played tracks on classic rock radio stations in the US.
"Barracuda" is a song by American rock band Heart, released in 1977 on their third studio album, Little Queen, and was released as the album's lead single. The song peaked at number 11 on the Billboard Hot 100. In 2009, "Barracuda" was named the 34th-best hard rock song of all time by VH1.
Roger Fisher is an American guitarist primarily known as one of the founding members of the band Heart. His tenure lasted from 1967 until 1980. In 2013 Fisher was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of Heart.
"Dreamboat Annie" is a song written and recorded by the rock band Heart. It is the title track from their debut album Dreamboat Annie and was released as its third single in 1976. The song had originally appeared as the B-side to Heart's debut single "Crazy on You" earlier that year.
Howard M. Leese is an American guitarist, record producer, and musical director who played with Heart as guitarist and keyboardist for 23 years. He continues to record and tour as a solo artist, and as guitarist with The Paul Rodgers Band and Bad Company. In 2013, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of Heart.
Dreamboat Annie Live is a live DVD released by the American rock band Heart in October 2007, which features Heart performing all ten songs from their 1976 debut album, Dreamboat Annie, plus five extra performances. The concert was also broadcast on DirecTV. The concert soundtrack was released as a live album, with the UK edition containing two bonus live tracks.
Fanatic is the fifteenth studio album by American/ Canadian rock band Heart, released on October 2, 2012, by Legacy Recordings. The album was recorded in hotel rooms and studios up and down the West Coast, with Grammy Award-winning producer Ben Mink, who had previously produced Red Velvet Car (2010), back at the helm.
Live in Atlantic City is a live album and home video release by American rock band Heart, recorded during their concert at the Trump Taj Majal in Atlantic City for VH1's Decades Rock Live! show on March 10, 2006. It was released on CD, LP, DVD, Blu-ray, streaming and digital download on January 25, 2019, through earMUSIC. The concert features guest appearances by Alice in Chains, Gretchen Wilson, Rufus Wainwright, Carrie Underwood, Dave Navarro, Phil Anselmo and Duff McKagan.
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